For Nick Saban and the Alabama upperclassmen, the prospect of a game between the nation’s top teams is becoming something of a routine. Saturday’s tilt in Tuscaloosa with top-ranked LSU will mark the third time in four years the Tide has participated in such a contest.

View FullscreenClose

No. 2 Alabama 32, No. 1 Florida 13, Dec. 5, 2009

Alabama’s SEC championship game revenge was swift and ruthless. Florida rode into Atlanta with a 22-game winning streak and dreams of a shot at back-to-back national titles and third in four years.

View FullscreenClose

No. 2 Florida 31, No. 1 Alabama 20, Dec. 6, 2008

The ascendancy of Tim Tebow was near complete after leading the Gators to a fourth-quarter rally against the undefeated Tide and their ninth straight win since his famous speech after an early-season loss to Ole Miss.

View FullscreenClose

No. 1 Ohio State 42, No. 2 Michigan 39, Nov. 18, 2006

This marked the first time these age-old Big Ten rivals both entered their traditional finale undefeated and ranked in the top two spots, and it was played one day after legendary Michigan coach Bo Schembechler died.

View FullscreenClose

No. 1 Ohio State 24, No. 2 Texas 7, Sept. 9. 2006

It had been nearly a decade since No. 1 had met No. 2 when Ohio State came down to Austin. And the game seemed hardly worth the wait as the Buckeyes trounced the defending-national-champion Longhorns on their home turf.

View FullscreenClose

No. 2 Florida State 24, No. 1 Florida 21, Nov. 30, 1996

The Gators sailed into their regular season finale at Doak Campbell Stadium with national title dreams and a Heisman hopeful in quarterback Danny Wuerffel. The Seminoles did their best to shatter both.

View FullscreenClose

No. 2 Notre Dame 31, No. 1 Florida State 24, Nov. 13, 1993

A game that prompted ESPN’s College GameDay to make its first-ever on-campus broadcast became even more famous for what happened after. The Irish were shocked on a last-second field goal by Boston College the next week in its finale. Florida State won the national championship in the Orange Bowl.

View FullscreenClose

No. 2 Miami 17, No. 1 Florida State 16, Nov. 16, 1991

“Wide Right” became part of the lore of the Miami-Florida State rivalry in 1991 after Gerry Thomas blew a 34-yard field goal with 29 seconds left. The Hurricanes would go on to win a split national championship (with undefeated Washington).